Valerie slowed to a stop, chest heaving, breath coming in ragged bursts. Talking while running still wasn’t her thing—weeks of jogging hadn’t quite trained her body to handle both at once. She bent slightly, catching her breath before blurting out, “I was just talking nonsense, okay?”

Arthur halted too, brows knitted tight, his eyes narrowing on her with sharp suspicion. He could tell—Valerie was hiding something again. Normally, he’d let her cryptic remarks slide, but this ...